DEAR JOAN: We have wind chime composed of metal tubes, hanging from the eaves about 6 feet from our back door. The tubes are about a half-inch in diameter and average about a foot in length.

We have seen bees crawling into the bottom of the tubes, carrying what look like pine needles, about 2 inches long, and then coming back out without them. Several of the tubes now have pine needles sticking out the top.

The bees look like honeybees, not yellowjackets. What kind of bees are these, what are they doing, and should we be concerned?

Anna

Rheem

DEAR ANNA: The only thing you should be worried about is the awful sound your wind chimes are going to make.

The bees are native bees and are important to the environment. Honeybees were imported to this country from Europe and they are important pollinators, plus we love the honey they make, but they are selective in their pollination. Hives will focus on a single plant and the bees will visit nothing else until they tire of that variety.

For the home gardener, native bees are more important than honeybees for pollination. The native bees will visit any and all flowers.

Native bees also are much more mellow than their European cousins. Most don’t even have stingers, and those that do use them only when pressed.

The bees build nests in the ground or in cylindrical objects, as you’ve discovered. They lay eggs in the tubes and then use the pine needles, and other materials, to plug up the holes to protect the eggs.

Although you may see several bees, they aren’t working together. Native bees don’t form hives or colonies, which is another reason they aren’t aggressive. Honeybees are hard-wired to protect the hive at all costs.

If the presence of the bees bothers you, then you could carefully move the wind chimes to another part of the yard.

The barbecue is the center’s largest fundraiser and helps to support the very important work this group does. The center treats hundreds of animals each year and provides important education to the public.

The event sounds like it’s going to be a good one. Some of the rehabilitation center’s animals will be on hand, including its newest animal ambassador, Uno, a one-eyed albino opossum that was treated at the center. Because Uno has poor vision and his coloring would mark him as an easy target to predators, he’s been given permanent resident status.

In addition to food, drink and animal encounters, guests also can participate in a silent auction for such items as personal raptor handling lessons, original artwork that includes paintings by an opossum, one-of-a-kind handmade jewelry, gift baskets and more. There also will be activities for the kids.

Tickets are $45 for adults, $10 for children 5 to 12, and free for children younger than 5. Tickets must be purchased by Oct. 14. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to www.werc-ca.org.

Joan Morris is the pets & wildlife columnist for the Bay Area News Group. She also writes about gardening and is the founder of Our Garden, a demonstration garden in Walnut Creek. Morris started her career in 1978 as a reporter for a small New Mexico newspaper. She has lived in the Bay Area since 1988.